


The Art of Playing Hard to Get

by taytay1994



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Athletes, Clubbing, Crossdressing, Drinking, Enemies to Friends, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Gay, M/M, Multi, Other, Rogerina - Freeform, Smoking, Sometimes I joke about offensive themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-07 08:16:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20306326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taytay1994/pseuds/taytay1994
Summary: College AU fic where Joe is just a regular scholar, studying cinematic arts at the same school as his close friend, Rami. Everything about him and his life was plain - and he was content with that, until an exchange student from Britain came to play for the university soccer team. Can his life continue in its usual, mediocre fashion? Or will Joe’s world be flipped on its head?





	1. Kick-off

**Author's Note:**

> Unedited, sorry for any weird formatting/typos. Bone app the teeth, y'all.

For Joe, the first week of classes for this Fall semester had started up without a hitch. He was just getting to the point in his university career where he had knocked out most of the bullshit gen-ed courses that everyone had to take. Which meant that this semester, he actually had the privilege of taking two major-specific courses:  _ Intro to Screenwriting,  _ and  _ Film Analysis.  _ Unfortunately, he still had to sit through economics and American history. It was Wednesday, and his first class was, you guessed it, history. So he found himself a seat somewhere in the middle and slumped down into his chair, pulling a slender laptop from his bag. Joe noticed the professor speaking quietly to a blonde boy with broad shoulders at the front of the room, but he didn’t pay much mind to it as he pulled up his instagram feed and mindlessly scrolled through, occasionally double tapping an image here and there. 

Before he knew it, everyone had filed into class and the teacher was making some announcement that probably didn’t matter.

“Class,” he began slowly, “we have a new student joining us today. This is Ben Hardy,” he pats a hand on the blue-eyed boy’s shoulder, “He’s a second-year, and he came all the way from Britain to play as our new midfielder for the soccer team. I’m not gonna bother you all with doing self-introductions again, but please make him feel welcome.” 

“Uh...hi.” Ben kinda shrugged casually and waved at the class, “he pretty much summed it up for you as well as I could’ve.” He had a deep voice and marked accent, his body language was nonchalant as he sauntered over to the back of the room and plopped down haphazardly. You could almost taste the collective disappointment in the air, from all the girls pleading with their eyes for him to sit beside them. 

Joe had barely taken in any of what just happened, because honestly, what’s it to him if some UK ‘footballer’ was in his class now? Baseball was more his thing, anyways. But he was a spectator, not a sportsman by any means. And he definitely wasn’t known for befriending athletes - more like actors. After all, his best friend Rami, was somewhat of an aspiring thespian himself. It was nice to have friends with similar interests, that’s how Joe always felt. But that didn’t stop him from twisting back in his chair to cast a quick glance at the newcomer. It was only when he turned to make direct eye contact with Ben, who merely smirked in return, did he jolt back to face his computer. The rest of the lecture went on uneventfully as the teacher babbled on about ‘Manifest Destiny’ and all that good stuff. Finally, it was time to leave and he’d be free from History until next Monday.  _ Thank.god.  _

The auburn haired young man gathered up his belongings and slung his messenger bag about his shoulder before moving to exit the room. Lots of his classmates lingered behind, offering the new jock a grand tour or god knows what else. Joe had barely gotten out of the building when he was rather roughly shoulder checked. He looked over in contempt to see the foreign exchange student flashing him a million dollar smile, keeping pace by his side. 

“I thought I heard the teacher say you’re supposed to make me feel welcome, if I’m not mistaken, gingerbread boy,” he paused to laugh playfully, “last I checked you’re the only one who didn’t greet me.”

_ Is this guy for real? Maybe he’s used to getting fawned over and doted on, but this seems out of line. This guy isn’t a pro, what does he expect, a red carpet welcome? Do we have to bow to his highness? British monarchy must've gone to his head or something. _

Joe was truly at a loss for words. And he wasn’t about to fight it. So, he opted to remain silent, and merely quirk an eyebrow at the athlete and keep on walking towards his dorm. He watched as Ben slipped a cigarette between his lips, lit it up, then held the pack out towards him.

“Care for a smoke?”

Joe allowed a visible look of disgust to grace his features as the pungent smell suffocated him. 

“This is a smoke free campus, man,” he said, sounding like he was holding back a cough as he pointed to a posted placard on one of the buildings. 

Ben frowned in thought for a moment, taking another deep drag, before shrugging and exhaling to indicate the lack of fucks he gave. 

“Well, you know _my_ name since the professor told everyone. It’s only fair I learn yours.”

“Joe,” he grunted. 

“Joooooe,” Ben seemed to trail off in thought for a second, letting the name roll off his tongue, long and drawn out. 

“Yeah, you know it’s not really that complicated. But like they say, it’s either brains or brawn so I guess you can’t have both,” Joe quipped, hoping to scare off the sculpted man. 

Ben furrowed his brows in mock anger before giggling softly.

“I take it you don’t want to show me around, then? I was keeping my schedule free for someone special,” he nearly teased. 

Joe almost recoiled at the flirtatious overtones, but instead just rebutted, “and what exactly gives me the honor of being _ so special  _ to Mr. Hardy?” 

Ben merely smiled and shrugged at the question, “See ya ‘round, Joe,” he said coyly as he threw up a casual peace sign and wandered off in a different direction. 

Joe was relieved, and checked his phone to see that he had received a text from Rami asking to meet up at the coffee shop. 

_ Sure thing. Be there in 10.  _

They sat at one of the wooden tables in a comfortable corner. This was a pretty routine thing for them. Rami would order a flat white like he did every day because he was kind of high maintenance even though he would never admit it. And Joe would just grab a simple cup of coffee - regular, just like him. As tradition at the beginning of every semester, they would gripe about the typical things: syllabi, professors, and the like. But today, there was something a little different thrown into the mix. 

The two had been enraptured in a comfortable silence for awhile when Joe finally broke in.

“Today...um,” Joe scratched at the back of his neck trying to find the words, Rami’s eyes searching his for answers, “some douchebag in a letterman jacket was harassing me after class.”

Rami looked really serious for about two whole seconds before he started cracking up. 

“Joe, are you being bullied,” he cooed in fake sympathy before he paused to laugh some more, “I think there’s a hotline for that.” He cackled for nearly another minute, before he read the unamused expression written all over his friend’s face. 

“Come on, man. This is college. Just tell him to fuck off.” 

“Well,  _ obviously. _ But it was  _ weird.  _ It felt like he singled me out or something.”

Rami reached across the table and pinched one of Joe’s cheeks and chimed, “Maybe you’ve got an admirer~” 

“Ugh. He’s in my class, though. That means I’ve gotta see him every M/W.” 

Rami noted the clear annoyance in Joe’s tone. 

“I wouldn’t think about it too much. Probably just a one time thing. And if not, tell him to fuck off,” Rami winked as he stood up, and pushed his chair in, “Gotta jet or I’ll be late for my next block. Hit me up later, ok?” 

Joe nodded in acknowledgement and waved off his pal. He was done with classes for the day, his three others were all T/TH block. He figured this was as good a place as any to finish his coffee and knock out that chapter of reading he was assigned in history today. And that’s exactly what he did. 


	2. Offside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe gets a new roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support so far. I'll keep trying to bang them out. 
> 
> Every time I write the name Ben I can't help but think of Cristine from simplynailogical yelling "Beeyyyyn". Hahah.

Close to an hour had passed, and Joe’s eyelids felt heavy. He knew his brain had reached maximum capacity for the day when he found himself reading the same sentence on a loop about 20 times before realizing he wasn’t absorbing any of it. He yawned and snapped the textbook shut, getting up and deciding to head back to his dorm. 

_ Maybe I’ll watch that new movie that won all those awards at Cannes or something,  _ he thought as he mindlessly made his way back to the boys-only apartments. 

Well, referring to it as an “apartment” might be too generous. Actually, it was kind of like a prison in a lot of ways. The campus was pretty dated, so the room in its natural state was just a cold concrete floor with equally cold brick walls that had been painted in some ugly, neutral color that did nothing to warm up the drab interior. He was staying in a double,which basically means they took a room that’s barely big enough for one person, and somehow managed to shove a second bed in. The only thing that separated the two bunks was a meager partition that you could barely call an alcove. There were only two redeeming qualities Joe had managed to find about his dorm - the en suite bathroom and the fact that he didn’t have to share a room with anyone. He was super hyped about being one of the lucky people to score a double all to themselves. 

He trudged his way up to the second floor and unlocked the door, kicking it open with an air of exhaustion. 

_ What...the…? _

It felt like Joe was going down in slow motion, as he stumbled and barely managed to catch himself. He cursed and looked down to find the offending item that just tripped him - a duffle bag? He practically punted it to the other side of the room. 

“Oi,” the voice echoed from the alcove, nearly throwing Joe off balance, “equipment isn’t cheap, mate. I’d be careful with that.” 

From where he was standing, he could only make out a pair of bare feet resting on the end of the bed. But he didn’t have to see the face that accompanied that voice to know who it was. The gym bag and the stench of musty cigarettes were a dead giveaway. Sure enough, when joe peaked his head around the corner, he was greeted by the sight of Ben, laying back in his bed, staring up at his phone idly.

His look of muted horror caught Ben’s eye and he set his phone down, propping himself up on one elbow. 

“Hey,  _ roomie, _ ” the blue-eyed boy purred sarcastically. 

Joe stood in place, mouth almost agape in disbelief. A million thoughts went racing through his mind as Ben stuck out his tongue playfully, unbothered by the dumbfounded redhead in his doorway. 

_ Oh nooooo. Oh no? Wait. This might be ok. At least this gives him reason for stalking me earlier, so that makes this whole thing way less weird, right? Right. This sucks. He probably thinks I’m such an asshole now. What kind of idiot doesn’t know they have a new roommate? Oh God I just wanna die. Can I die please?  _

“I’ve got practice in a few hours. You wanna come be my personal cheerleader,” he taunted, much to Joe’s bemusement.

“What the hell, dude? Why didn’t you just tell me what was going on back there after class? I must’ve completely missed the memo. Since  _ when  _ do I have a roommate and  _ why  _ is it you,” he said as he frantically scrolled through his phone looking for a possible missed email. 

“Wow. Don’t get too excited,” Ben replied in mock dejection, dramatically putting a hand to his heart. 

Joe sighed, “Sorry, I’m just surprised, I guess. Sorry - uh, about earlier. I just thought you were a weirdo.” 

He walked over to the side of Ben’s bed and extended his hand as a gesture of peace. The blonde boy sat up in return, and scooted to the edge of the bunk while he took Joe’s hand in a firm grip and shook it, smiling up at him mischievously. 

“Oh, but  _ I am. _ ”

Joe felt his cheeks heat up at the rebuttal, and recoiled his hand when he noticed Ben had loosened his grip and let it linger on his in a gentle caress. He quickly turned and shuffled out of Ben’s corner awkwardly.

“Don’t leave your shit by the door,” he called behind him, trying to sound as threatening as possible. 

Joe knew damn well there was nowhere to hide. So, he resigned himself to crawling in his bed and pulling the covers up over his face, all the while mentally cursing whatever sick higher power set him up like this. Unsure of what to do, he pulled out his phone under the safety of his blanket tent, and texted Rami:  _ FML.  _

A reply came in a matter of moments. But moments felt like ages to Joe, trapped under his sheets and nearly suffocating in a plume of his own CO2.  _ You good, man? _

_ Hmu when you’re out of class. _

He couldn’t tell if it was the lack of oxygen, or just his sheer misfortune, but Joe felt dizzy. He needed to get out of there. 

_ Look at me, running from my own residence,  _ he thought pitifully as he got up and nearly stumbled over a stray soccer ball. The pale man grabbed his bag and made for the door.

“Practice is at 8, in case you change your mind,” the smooth voice sounded off.

“Don’t worry,  _ I won’t, _ ” he emphasized before closing the door sharply behind him. 

Joe knew exactly what building Rami’s classes were held in, and he headed straight to the auditorium. Just like he expected, Rami and some of his classmates could be seen on the stage practicing some random theater piece. Sitting out in one of the front rows as a lone audience member, Rami soon noticed his friend. As soon as Joe knew he caught the curly haired boy’s attention, he cracked a grin and whistled suggestively, causing Rami to roll his eyes and turn his back so Joe couldn’t see him stifling a laugh. 

Eventually the class was dismissed, and Rami hopped off the platform to go and occupy the seat next to his pal. “So, what’s up?”

“You know that creepy guy I was telling you about earlier?”

“Yeah?”

“He is my roommate,” Joe admitted with a huge sigh. 

To his surprise, Rami started laughing. “This will be good for you, dude. You just gotta stop overthinking it.”

“He gives me predator vibes,” Joe half-joked, trying to paint the picture for his friend.

“Is he too alpha-male for you,” Rami playfully punched Joe in the arm, “Joe think about it. For last  _ however many _ years, I’ve been your only friend. You’re just not used to new people and you’re probably reading him all wrong.”

“I’m picky, not socially inept,” Joe tried to defend himself, “he’s all flirty and stuff...I dunno.”

  
  


“Earth to Joe - you just catcalled me while I was on stage. Lots of guys do that shit for fun. It’s called bromance.”

“I’M ALLOWED TO BROMANCE YOU, WE’VE BEEN FRIENDS FOR 10 YEARS. BEN MET ME  _ THIS MORNING _ .” 

“His name is Ben? See, harmless. I can already tell. Ben’s not a predator name, you’re good.”

“He asked me to come to his soccer practice tonight.”

Rami kind of grimaced, “Ew. Sports.”

“More like ew, soccer.”

“Yeah, tell him to switch to baseball and then maybe you’ll reconsider.”

Joe couldn’t help but laugh. Rami knew him too well. 

“So, whaddaya think I should do?”

“Honestly, I think he is just trying to be your friend since he knows he’s going to be living with you. I’d accept it as a kind gesture and give him the chance. Who knows, maybe you could get along nicely.”

The ginger boy scoffed a little and looked at his friend with skepticism. 

“Ok, fine. But if I get molested it’s on you.”

“By the whole soccer team? Sounds fun. Invite me next time if that happens,” Rami jested and waved as Joe got up and left the theater. 


	3. Film Noir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life as roommates isn't so bad, after all. Is Ben's public persona a farce?

Joe got back to his dorm, and was relieved to find it void of both Ben and his gym bag.  _ He must’ve already headed out to the locker rooms to get ready for warm-ups _ , he figured. His hazel eyes browsed his closet for a minute before he decided that a wardrobe change wasn’t really necessary to go watch a bunch of sweaty guys kick a ball around. He slipped his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and started for the fields. The stadium was about a 20 minute trek from his building, but Joe thought it was probably better to show up a little late. After all, he didn’t want to seem too eager. 

As he made his way through the main stadium entrance, he couldn’t help but squint as he was bathed in the bright lights which illuminated the entire field. After a little bit of guesswork, Joe found his way down onto the turf and neared the sidelines where the team could be seen practising dribbling drills. Joe found himself a good spot on the bench, and watched the impressive footwork in action.  _ There's something that is just so cool about a uniform, _ Joe concluded as he admired all of the matching, navy blue jerseys with white trim. 

The team had split in half and they appeared to be working on different exercises. Joe scanned the huge field for Ben. Down at the opposite end, he finally spotted the bold, block letters on the back of his jersey - HARDY. Two players ran parallel on opposites sides of the field and practised passing control. Then the next pair would follow up, and so on. Joe couldn’t help but be just a little impressed by Ben’s impeccably timed and aimed passes. These guys really made it look effortless.  _ I guess if you’re on scholarship at a D1 school, you’d better be damn good, _ he surmised. He could tell Ben didn’t really know his teammates too well yet. Made sense considering he was subbed in so last minute, but he stuck closely by the side of one player in particular. This man was tall and lean compared to Ben, and whenever he shouted to make a call, Joe noted that he also had a British accent like his roommate. The film student could barely make out that the back of his jersey read ‘LEE’.

With the blow of a whistle, it appeared to be break time, as Joe took in the sight of Ben jogging directly towards him with a smile spreading across his features. 

“Oh, so  _ you did _ change your mind,” Ben eyed the redhead slyly, “shame you didn't bring a skirt and pompoms, though. How am I supposed to get motivated?” 

Joe licked his lips in thought for a second, squinting his eyes in regard to the strange remark, “I thought my presence would suffice.” 

Ben took a seat so close to him that their shoulders were pressed up against each other, and he could make out the sensation of dampness rubbing off of the athlete. The muscular man tilted his head back as he took a long swig from his gatorade. Before he bothered to put the cap back on, he held it out, offering some to Joe, who merely held up his hand in a ‘no, thanks’ kinda way. 

“I didn’t think you’d come…but, I’m glad you did. Most of these guys’ girlfriends don’t even come to watch practices,” he laughed breathily. 

_ What does that make me, then,  _ Joe wondered to himself.

“Oh, uh...I just thought we should get to know each other better. Since we live together and all,” Joe explained.

Ben tilted his chin up arrogantly and smirked, casting his roommate a sideways glance, “Sure it’s not just ‘cause you fancy me?” 

“Wow, I’d hate to see what you’re like in the locker room,” Joe rolled his eyes.  _ If this guy is joking, I really wanna get to the punchline already. Relentless bastard. I can’t dodge this awkward shit forever.  _

“So,” Joe continued, “do you know that Lee guy from somewhere?”

“Oh, Gwilym? Yeah, it’s pretty crazy, actually. We used to play together back in the UK. Same junior high team. And somehow we both ended up here,” Ben glanced over to where the taller man was sitting for a moment, before looking back at Joe intensely, “why? You jealous or something?”

Ben leaned back and ran a hand through his sweaty hair, still smirking at Joe. There was nothing but silence between them, as their eyes locked and they held each other's gaze. Joe shifted, clearly uncomfortable, while Ben oozed his characteristic unflinching confidence. The sound of the whistle finally broke Ben’s hold over him, and he stood up and jogged off like nothing ever happened.  _ What’s this guy on about?  _

With that, Joe decided he had shown enough support and headed back to his room. Besides, he didn’t even want to consider the prospect of trying to shower with that creep nearby, so he could at least bathe in peace while Ben was busy scrimmaging. His pace was a little bit faster than usual, and his pulse was still jittery from their “close encounter”. Yeah, honestly, that’s all he would care to call it. Maybe he really is just a weirdo like he claims to be, like an alien, and these “strange encounters” were just a part of life with Ben.  _ But I’m weird, too. So is Rami. It’s not about being weird. He’s just too forward. Maybe I just have to draw a line, create some boundaries. Yeah, that’s not unreasonable,  _ Joe assured himself as he locked his door behind him and started to undress. 

Tossing his clothes in a messy heap into the hamper, he walked into the bathroom which, much to his chagrin, didn’t have a lock. He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment, before letting out a sigh and turning the faucet. The small space filled with steam and he stepped into the shower, letting the warm sensation rush over him while he mulled over his mental checklist for any assignments due tomorrow that he might’ve forgotten. Being that it was the first week, there wasn’t much for him to do besides assigned reading. He stayed there long after cleaning himself, basking in the comfortable heat while letting all of his thoughts carry him away. That is, until he was startled by the sound of the main door closing.  _ Fuck. Did I really take that long in the shower? Shit! My towel...no...I left it hanging on my bed.  _

“Ben...is that you,” he called from within the bathroom, and it only amplified the nervousness in his voice.

“Yeah, mate. You almost done in there, I need one, too.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, mate, but you’ll owe me one in return, ” the sweaty boy cooed.

“My towel...i-it’s hanging off my headboard.”

“ _ Ooooooooh,  _ no can do, Joe. Sorry,” Ben laughed, realizing the helpless state Joe was in, “you’re just gonna have to solve this one on your own.”

“Alright, I get it. You’re a pervert. Now knock it off and toss me my towel, please,” Joe tried to sound firm.

“I mean...I’m in no rush. I can wait till the morning to shower, as long as you don’t mind sleeping in the bathroom,” he pushed back.

Joe opened the bathroom door just a crack to peek his head out and scowl at Ben, and then look at the towel which seemed so goddamn far away even though it was probably only 15 feet from him. Ben was leaned up against the wall, shirtless and stripped of his socks and shin guards, arms crossed in front of his toned chest. 

“Fuck you,” Joe spat as he tip toed across the room as quickly as possible, dripping and trying to cover his junk with his hands. He grabbed that towel like it was a lifeline and bundled up super fast. Ben still had the brass to be standing there, checking him out like this was some kind of show, “the shower is free now, douchebag. What are you waiting for?”

The blonde took his time sliding off the wall. “Nice ass,” was his bold choice of parting words as he disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Joe feeling simultaneously furious and exposed. He hated that feeling, of Ben having him right where he wanted him - vulnerable. Never again. He tried to push the thought out of his mind, and fight the blush burning on his cheeks as he pulled on some pajamas and climbed into bed with his film textbook. 

A whopping 5 minutes had passed before Ben emerged from the steaming washroom, donning only a towel wrapped around his chiseled waist.  _ I bet he’s one of those guys who uses 5 in 1 Axe or some shit. Wait, this is my chance. If I had to be exposed, so does he.  _

Joe hopped out of bed and swung around the corner to swipe the blonde’s towel right off him. But he didn’t earn the reaction he was expecting.

“Oh so  _ now _ you’re keen on it, mate,” Ben questioned, unfazed, and turned to quirk a brow at Joe.

“You don’t even care?”

“Why would I care about being naked in front of another guy? It happens in the locker room everyday,” he shrugged, “and since it’s  _ you, _ that just makes it even better,” he finished as he took his time pulling on some briefs.

“Egh. You’re something else,” Joe said with an obvious tone of repugnance before making his way back to bed and reading his textbook until he conked out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next few weeks passed as one might expect. Joe was preoccupied with classwork as the semester picked up, while Ben was caught up in games and constant conditioning. The two probably saw each other more in the history class they shared than in their actual dorm. Since the first day, Ben always walked into class a few minutes late and took the seat next to Joe. Sometimes he would try to pay attention, other times he would rest his head in his arms and sleep on the table in front of them during lecture. All Joe could do was stare down at Ben’s snoozing face in disbelief, and take good enough notes for the both of them. 

Joe’s film classes were heavy on project work and he still spent a lot of time with Rami between classes, so he was out of the room during the daytime, but always in by around 9 or so, unless he decided to go watch one of Ben’s games. Joe really didn’t know where Ben was ever. His popularity made it difficult to keep tabs on him. Sometimes, he’d see him eating lunch with his soccer mate, Gwilym. Other days, he’d pass him on campus with a girl or two on his arm, casually smoking a cigarette. They would always nod or wave to acknowledge one another, but their lives were very separate. On the rare occasion that they were in the dorm together for more than just a night’s sleep, Ben was the same old flirtatious bastard, and Joe still didn’t know what to do with him. Although the shock value had lessened, for sure. At least the smaller man knew what to expect from his opposite. Well,  _ he thought _ he’d figured him out.

It was a rare weekend where both of them were home, due to inclement weather. Joe didn’t feel like leaving the house and Ben’s games were rained out. Joe was sitting on his bed with all of his notes spread out in front of him. They had a history midterm coming up on Monday, and he had offered to have a study session with his roomie, seeing as sleeping in class probably wasn’t the best way to pass an exam. Ben obliged and lazily came over, empty notebook in hand, and plopped down on the opposite end of Joe’s mattress. The sound of raindrops could be heard crashing loudly into the window. The room was dim if not for the desk lamp. And the crisp October air could be felt even indoors. It was peaceful. Both boys were lounging about in sweats, but Ben chose to remain shirtless, despite the chill. Joe swore he did it just to show off. 

Joe sat up, cross legged and stared down at Ben who was already stretched out on the end of his bed like a cat. 

“I’m not gonna let you get away with sleeping like the professor does, ya know,” Joe chided.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m awake...for now. Go on, then,” Ben urged as he propped his chin up on one arm. 

“Ok, the first important unit was on Colonization of the West,” Joe flipped through his notes, “what do you remember from that?”

“Dunno...people in wagons, cowboys, all that good shit,” Ben guessed.

Joe pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down at the blonde-haired man, “Goddamn, you’re gonna fail this test,” he said, trying not to laugh, “I’m gonna need you to try a little harder than that.”

“Alright, then,  _ Mr. Mazzello _ . Enlighten me,” Ben pretended to bow to the slender boy across from him. 

They studied for about an hour, and the soccer star actually seemed to be taking some of it in, even if he interrupted the session every few minutes to make some smartass comment or have a go at his friend. Joe paused to go to the bathroom, and when he came out, he was offended to find Ben scrolling through his phone, reading his text messages. 

“This Rami a cute bird of yours or something, love?”

“ _ He  _ is my best friend, and you’ve seen me with him before,” Joe said, as he tried to snatch the phone back, but Ben rolled to dodge him.

“Sorry, mate. A cute  _ boy  _ of yours, then,” he teased and kept scrolling through the texts, “didn’t even bother to mention me, I see,” he pretended to be hurt, “and no nudes? Pretty boring relationship you have here.”

“NOT a relationship, like I said, and please give me back my phone,” he said as he swiped for it again, this time snatching it from Ben’s grip. 

“Yeah, I remember him. I’m cuter, don’t you think,” Ben pouted his naturally cherry colored lips in a coquettish manner and winked at Joe.

“If it will get you to focus back on our studies, then sure. Yeah, you’re cuter,” Joe said with little emotion in his voice. 

“Is that “objectively speaking” or do you really think so,” Ben pressed further.

Joe sighed and looked over at the other man, “I don’t get you, Ben. All you do is flirt with me any chance you get, and you act like it matters to you if I think you're cute or go to your games, yet you’re always hanging around with some random girl. You obviously aren’t into guys. I think, Ben, that you just like having power over people. Including me.”

Ben bit his lower lip and smirked at Joe, “if that’s true, would it bother you?”

“No, because you  _ don’t _ have that power over me, Ben. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re buff or good at sports or handsome or any of those things. That stuff doesn’t sway me.”

The blue eyed boy stared down at the bed in silence for a beat or two, before carefully reaching his hand out and placing it on top of Joe’s, “that’s why I like you the most.” 

The genuine sincerity took Joe aback, and he struggled for a comeback, blushing deeply in response. He tried to pull his hand away, but Ben caught his wrist and shoved him roughly down onto his back. The ginger stared up with an expression that could only be interpreted as a mixture of shock, annoyance, and uncertainty. 

“Wha-” he began to protest, but was abruptly cut off when the stronger boy leaned over him, pinning both wrists next to his head. He positioned himself slightly on top of the skinnier boy, purposely sliding his thigh up in between Joe’s legs. The redhead gasped despite himself and his face went a dark shade of rouge, he turned his head to the side, too humiliated to look Ben in the eyes. 

“Do I make you  _ nervous,  _ Joe,” he asked, face so close to his that he could feel the man’s hot breath on his ear. It smelled faintly of cigarettes. Joe’s breath was running ragged and he fought to keep it together, wondering why so little contact was getting him so worked up. He found himself enjoying this level of intimacy.  _ What’s happening? How’s this happening? _ His head was spinning. When Joe couldn’t give an answer, Ben took mercy and backed off, leaving Joe somehow disappointed but also visibly shaken. 

“Sorry...I get...carried away sometimes…” Ben said, his voice lacking its usual strength, “it won’t happen again.” 

Joe noticed a flicker of some sad emotion hidden deep in the other’s eyes.  _ Was that loneliness?  _ Well, he did move all on his own from another country, but this was something different. The type of deep-seated loneliness that took hold long ago and never left.  _ You don’t have to leave, _ Joe could only think to himself as Ben grabbed his notebook off the bed and disappeared into his section of the room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the kudos and comments ^.^
> 
> Ya girl tried to watch clips of EastEnders for some Ben reference and lemme just say - don't do it! It's a huge cringe fest like all soaps are. Except somehow worse. Bad acting, chavs, middle school-esque romancing. Big yikes.


	4. New Perspectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rowdy football hooligans.

Shortly after that incident, Ben left the dorm and didn’t come back for the rest of the weekend. Joe wanted to stop him from going, sit him down, tell him it was okay, ask what was wrong. Joe couldn’t help but mentally replay the awkward display of self-restraint from someone usually so self-assured. The way his voice broke. He looked like he had somehow betrayed himself. Did Ben really feel so guilty for what happened?  _ Was it wrong? Was it worse that I didn’t want it to end?  _

It wasn’t until Monday morning when he saw Ben again, still arriving a few minutes late despite it being exam day. But he didn’t sit near Joe this time. He sat at the back of the room. Joe finished his test before his friend, and he wondered when he would get the chance to see him next as his eyes lingered on the head of blonde hair a second or two before he handed in his paper and walked out. He decided to meet up with Rami at their usual haunt.

They sat at their favorite spot in the corner, coffees in hand, and Joe finally broke the news. 

“Houston, we might have a problem,” he winced.

“ _ Might? _ I thought things were good with your roommate,” Rami asked, before sipping his flat white, a little bit of the foam sticking to his pronounced upper lip before he hastily wiped it away with the back of his hand. 

“Yeah, well. I thought so, too. But on Saturday something kind of went wrong, and I don’t even think I know why,” Joe said, equally puzzled. 

“Well,” Rami urged impatiently.

“I don’t know, man. We were just studying. He was flirting like always, so I finally called him out on it. Ya know, like why are you like this kinda thing, ‘cause Rami, I think he just does it for kicks. Like, he  _ can’t actually be gay _ , right?”

“Annnnnd,” Rami pushed for more details.

“Right after that he switched it up on me and started acting all sentimental, telling me he "likes me the most" because I’m not impressed by him or some shit. And then he,” Joe paused, and blushed, pulling his hoodie around his face.

“He _what_?! You can’t leave me on a cliffhanger _ , _ man,” Rami demanded, slamming his fist on the table for dramatic emphasis. 

“He got on top of me, okay! He was so close. I could feel him breathing!”

Rami rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated groan, “come on, Joe. You two virgins are so fucking boring. You had me thinking something juicy happened!”

“No, but listen. He got off all of a sudden, and was all upset at himself...he even apologized, which is so un-Ben-like. And now he won’t even come back to the dorm! It’s been 2 and a half days! Where is he sleeping?!” 

“I dunno. You must’ve struck a chord. Maybe he suddenly realized he’s gay? That’s a major revelation, ya know," Rami laughed to indicate he was only kidding, "maybe he just thinks he fucked up a good friendship? Have you said anything to him,” Rami asked.

“No,” Joe admitted, feeling guilty. 

“You can at least text him,” he suggested.

“Yeah, I just didn’t want him to think his issues are that casual to me, but you’re right. It’s better than nothing. No, actually. He has practice tonight. I’ll go and talk to him in person about it.”

Rami smiled at his friend’s breakthrough, “see. What would you do without my genius?” 

They spent the next hour or so talking and complaining about midterms. Rami eventually had another test to take, so Joe chose to retire to his dorm and do some extra studying for tomorrow’s exams. But when he got to his front door, something wasn’t right. It was slightly ajar. Definitely not how he’d left it. Joe’s eyes widened in sheer horror as his ears picked up voices coming from within the room. He heard the faint sound of a girl moaning Ben’s name and he kicked open the door in a rage. 

“What  _ the fuck _ , Ben?! You disappear for two days and come back for a quick fuck,” Joe shouted accusingly, a pit of dread growing in his stomach at the sight of Ben naked in bed with some girl.

“Piss off, Joe! This place is just as much mine as it is yours, so mind your fucking business,” Ben shouted back, visibly heated.

“It’s hard not to notice when you don’t even have the decency to shut the door, you fucking prick,” Joe yelled, fighting back tears, “I liked it better when you were gone!”

With that, he slammed the door shut behind him and stormed off to a nearby courtyard to clear his mind. Joe was the type to avoid confrontation. The type to rarely raise his voice, but back there, he felt something inside him snap. _This means everything he ever said to me was a lie._ _I was right about him, but I don’t want to be right. He just toys with people. _

Joe’s stomach was still turning, and he paced around, trying to shake this gross sensation. Was he mad at Ben’s indiscretion, or was he just jealous? Admitting he was jealous meant admitting Ben really _did_ have that power over him. Maybe he let his guard down too much. But how could he not feel at least a little special when Ben told him he liked him _the most?_ _Doesn’t that stand for something?_

It took a lot to calm himself down, but Joe decided that being jealous wasn’t gonna solve anything right now. His roommate was acting out of character. He  _ still  _ needed to go to that practice tonight - but not for Ben. 

8 o’clock rolled around too soon, and Joe still hadn’t dared to go back to the dorm. He stayed in that park until it was time to go to the stadium. He sat at the bench on the sidelines, like he had many times before now. And watched the players run their drills. Ben was there, and even though Joe knew he would’ve noticed him by now, Ben refused to acknowledge his presence.  _ That’s understandable. _ He noticed he and Gwilym were chatting a little bit more than usual today, and Joe felt a little uneasy when Lee glanced over at him.  _ Bet he’s talking shit. _ After an agonizing half-hour, the whistle blew for break time and Joe jogged over to tag Lee by the jersey. 

“Uh, hey. Can we talk,” Joe tried to discreetly pull the lanky man aside and get some privacy.

“Sure. You’re Ben’s roommate, right? Uh,  _ Joe _ , was it,” he asked in earnest, as they’ve never been introduced. 

“Yeah, I’m Joe, and you’re Gwilym, right” he held out his hand to the other who shook it in return. 

“Yup, that’s me.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Joe noticed Ben staring them down suspiciously from a distance, but he tried to ignore it.

“I wanted to talk to you cause...well, Ben’s been acting a little off lately, and I’m just...concerned. We really got into it earlier.”

“Yeah, he hasn’t said too much on it. But Saturday night I saw him at a party, and he was totally shitfaced, which isn’t really typical for Ben. He was a complete mess. One minute starting a fight, the next disappearing with some girl.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t at the dorm for a couple of days, and then I caught him in bed with some chick this afternoon,” Joe grimaced, “needless to say that didn’t go over well.” 

“Well...the thing about Ben is...he’s always felt a need to put on airs to impress the people around him. But he doesn’t have anyone he’s been able to truly let go with. He’ll sometimes talk about how much he’d give to trade his sports and popularity just to have a proper mate - so he can be himself. But I don’t know if even  _ he _ knows who he really is at this point. Ben thinks everyone expects something from him, and maybe it’s finally getting to-” Gwilym was cut off by Ben, stomping up to the two, clearly looking for a fight.

“Oi, what’s this about,” he said irritated, glaring directly at Joe and stepping right up in his face.

Gwilym tried to mediate the situation and gently put a hand on Ben’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about it, Ben.”

“I’m not asking  _ you, _ ” Ben hissed as he shoved Gwilym’s hand off him, and stepped in closer to Joe, practically pressed up against him, “what business do you have with Gwil, huh,” Ben gritted, “what is it? You’re coming to watch _him_ play now?!”

“Are you  _ seriously _ about to act that way with  _ me,”  _ Joe lost it. He put his hands on Ben’s chest and shoved him back as hard as he could causing him to stumble back a few feet, “where’s that fucking whore, Ben? Huh?! Why isn’t _she_ here, huh,” Joe was screaming at this point, gesturing to the empty bench on the sidelines. 

Ben didn’t want to hear another word, and he lunged straight for the pale boy, punching him square in his mouth. 

His teeth were gritted and his face was twisted in a pained expression as he looked down at Joe, blood pouring from the redhead’s lip. “Because she doesn’t give a  _ fuck _ about me, Joe! You think I don’t know that,” he nearly cried out, voice cracking in a gut wrenching tone. Tears started running down Ben’s face before he turned and ran out of the stadium.

After standing there paralyzed by bewilderment for a solid minute, Gwilym bent down and offered Joe a hand, pulling him to his feet. 

“That went way worse than I was expecting,” he admitted, “alright, let’s see the damage.”

Joe pulled his hand away from his mouth and looked down his blood-soaked fingers. He spat out a mouthful of crimson. 

“Come on, mate. Give us a grin,” Gwilym insisted.

Joe awkwardly tried to smile, as the taller man checked for any missing teeth. He gave a thumbs up, and Joe let out a sigh of relief. 

“Missing teeth or not, though. That fat lip probably isn’t gonna go down for a few days. Definitely ice it,” Gwil advised, “I’ll try talking to Ben for you if I see him.”

Joe nodded in appreciation and hobbled off to his room, having accomplished way more than he bargained for. He showered off and laid back in bed with a bag of frozen pizza rolls resting on his swollen mouth. A couple hours later, he was surprised to see Ben stumble in, this time unaccompanied. But, clearly intoxicated and still in his uniform. 

“Ben?”

Ben stopped in his place and took in the scene in front of him. He stumbled forward just a little bit, trying to figure out what Joe had on his face and immediately started laughing when he saw the pizza rolls. “Nice ice pack, mate.”

“Thanks, asshole,” Joe replied. 

“I’ll probably wanna eat those later, so you can just leave them out,” Ben called as he threw down his duffle bag haphazardly and wobbled towards the bathroom. 

After a few moments Joe could hear the sound of the shower starting and he let himself relax again.  _ If he’s drunk enough, I might actually get something useful out of him. I need to try and fix this,  _ Joe thought as he waited for Ben to finish. He finally emerged, completely naked with his towel draped around his shoulders. _Typical._ Joe waited a few moments for him to put on his underwear before walking over to the athlete’s corner. Ben was laying in his briefs, face down on the bed like a dead man. Joe rolled his eyes and ran to the kitchen to grab him a water bottle.

“Drink this, you good for nothing drunkard,” he said sarcastically.

Ben groaned, and rolled over, casting his flatmate a nasty scowl. “Look, Joe. You can quit the act. It’s not doing  _ us _ any favors. I really don’t want anything to do with you right now.”

Joe stood up, feeling indignant, “why are you being such a twat, Ben? Can you not see I’m trying to make things better,” he tried not to yell.

“You wouldn’t get it, Joe. You asked me why I’m like this? You would never understand how it feels. The pressure.”

“Ben,  _ what  _ pressure?” 

“You just assume you know what my life is like, Joe. Like how you  _ assume _ I don’t like guys, and  _ assume _ I’m some playboy who serial dates a bunch of girls for fun.”

“Then just  _ talk to me, _ please,” but Ben was already getting up off the bed and trying to get dressed. 

“Ben, stop. Please just talk to me,” Joe said and he tried to grab him by the arm while he marched, clearly annoyed, towards the door.

Ben snapped around and firmly placed his hands on the slender boy’s chest, pushing him into the wall with a thud. This was the second time in one night Ben was violating Joe’s personal space for the wrong reasons. Joe smelled the alcohol on his breath, but the stronger boy’s expression wasn’t threatening this time, just serious. He wanted Joe to get the idea, and to stop prying at personal details.

“Joe, I don’t think you know how lucky you are,” Ben almost laughed pitifully, “my life is on display, like a part of it is for the taking, for whoever it benefits. My parents and coaches trying to exploit athletic talents, girls who use me for their reputation, boys who befriend me under false pretenses. But they don’t care about the real me. Just my image,” Ben’s fist had gripped the fabric of Joe’s shirt, but Joe didn’t dare say anything.  _ Is this how he’s been feeling? _

“And that shit, all those toxic people around me, all these positions I’m forced into. They scare off the good people,  _ like you _ . Because they get the wrong impression. You live your life in a bubble, Joe. You get to choose who comes and who goes. I’ve never had that,” Ben’s pretty blue eyes were locked onto Joe’s hazel ones, but Joe never looked away. He didn’t even want to blink. 

“I didn’t get to make that choice with you, Ben,” Joe said, feeling kind of defeated as he stepped away from the wall and put some distance between them, “but despite that,  _ I like you the most. _ ”

  
The blonde boy stood, looking awestruck for a moment, before he walked out the door. He didn’t come back that night.  _ Goddamnit, Ben. Just let your guard down for once. Why can’t he see I’m just trying to understand him, _ Joe thought, collapsing on his bed and placing the bag of pizza rolls back on his lip. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, knowing I have to write the conflict: i dun wanna D:
> 
> Me, writing the conflict: *puts on "Faint" by Linkin Park to hype myself up* Talk shit, get hit, bitch!!!!
> 
> Anyways, thanks for the love + your comments give me life.


	5. Man On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rami's got the hook up. Ben gets a makeover. Just for fun.

Nearly a week had passed and Ben was completely MIA. Joe would have been concerned if it weren’t for Gwilym stopping by to pick up some things from the flat. Joe had been lazing about, doing some film editing for a class project, when we heard a knock at the door. He was disappointed to see Ben’s friend, rather than the blonde himself. 

“Glad I managed to catch you here,” he sighed, “Ben asked me to grab a few things for him.”

“So, he’s been staying with you,” Joe questioned as he opened the door to invite the lofty brunette inside.

“Yup. You know Ben. Avoidance issues and whatnot,” Gwilym laughed and shook his head as he rummaged around the alcove, picking up this and that. 

“Tell me about it. Can’t even come by his  _ own place _ to get his  _ own things. _ He’s lucky you’re such a good friend,” Joe snickered, “I’d make Rami do it himself”. 

Gwilym grinned, “What can I say, guess Ben’s spoiled,” he said as he found the last thing he seemed to be looking for and stuffed it into a sports bag. 

“Uh,” Joe stammered, “h-how is he, by the way? Has he said anything to you about that night?”

“Oh  _ that night. _ Your lip looks back to normal now, I’m glad,” Gwilym added, “but no, sadly. I tried to ask him about it, and he just changed the subject.”

“Oh,” Joe answered, trying not to sound too put down, “well, is there anything new going on with him?”

Gwilym stood there and squinted for a moment in thought, “he asked me something a little out of character a couple days ago,” Gwilym paused, “asked me if I’d still be his friend if he fancied guys,” he quickly added, “obviously, I said yes.” 

Joe cleared his throat awkwardly before shrugging his shoulders, “well, uh. I’ll see you around, then?”

“Yeah, mate,” Gwil said as he walked towards the door, “and I wouldn’t worry too much. He’ll come around,” he said as he slapped a reassuring hand on Joe’s shoulder. Joe nodded weakly in agreement as he shut the door behind the other. 

\-----------

When Gwilym got back to his apartment, nearly a dozen amazon packages were blocking his front door - all addressed to Ben. He wrestled himself and all of the boxes into the foyer. 

“Uhhhh, Ben? You’ve got mail,” he called out. 

Ben slowly emerged from down the hall, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. It was clear he hadn’t shaved in days, and god only knew if he’d showered. Gwil eyed him suspiciously as he hoisted a few of the boxes up to his chest and hauled them off to his room. 

“What’s all this for, mate,” he asked as the blonde came to retrieve the last of the parcels. 

Ben just smirked at his friend, “a man can’t have his secrets?” 

The taller man could only shake his head in response and walk away. 

\--------

Rami felt his phone go off in his pocket, he looked down to see a text from an unknown number:

**‘Sup, pansy?**

**Uhhhhhhhhhhh who’s this?**

**Someone who needs your help.**

**Yeah, well you’re off to a great start. Who is this?**

**Joe’s boyfriend ;) **

**You wish. He deserves better than you. But hi, Ben. What do you want?**

**You’re in the thespian program, right?**

**Ya, why?**

**What’s your experience with stage makeup?**

\-------------------

_ Why am I here again,  _ Rami thought as he stood in front of the apartment door with a small trunk in hand, almost scared to knock. But he did. And a tall man he’d never seen before answered, looking equally shocked. 

“I’m uh,” he trailed awkwardly.

“He’s with me,” Ben’s head popped up over Gwil’s shoulder and he grinned at Rami, “Rami, this is Gwil. Gwil, Rami,” he gestured between them, “come on, then. Let him in. Don’t be rude to our guest,” he teased and took Rami by the hand, dragging him down the hall and pulling him into his room, shutting the door behind them. 

“He’s very nice, I promise. My best mate from soccer,” Ben explained.

“Oh great.  _ Two soccer players. _ More people to stomp me if this doesn’t turn out how you planned,” Rami said sarcastically.

“I’ve never done this before. There’s no  _ plan, _ ” Ben rolled his eyes. 

“What inspired you suddenly?”

“I dunno. Wanna try something different. Have fun. But  _ mostly, _ ” Ben smirked and leaned in closer to Rami, “to see the look on his face.”

“You’re a gross, sadistic person,” Rami almost laughed, “you’re lucky I admire that. You’re in good hands,” he said as he slapped the big makeup case he brought along, “got this from a girlfriend of mine, and she’s pretty hot, so with any luck...”

“ _ Ahem~  _ I’m already hot, in case you haven’t noticed. You’ll barely have to do anything.”

Rami just responded by making a repulsed expression, “Ok, then hot stuff. Put on your outfit first, I gotta see what I’m working with.” 

He watched in amusement as Ben struggled to button up the delicate, white blouse. 

“Quit flexing so much, you’re gonna rip it, show off,” Rami said as he ran over to help him. 

Ben awkwardly stumbled over as he tried to step into the pleated, black skirt, flashing Rami his briefs as he went down. 

Rami stuck out his tongue, “No, panties? Slacker.” 

“There’s more, just wait,” Ben said as he whipped out a pink and gold tie, and started fastening it around his collar. 

“Oooooh, the school girl look? Kinky~” Rami busted out in laughter.

Ben rummaged through one of his boxes for a few moments for pulling out a medium length blonde wig, with little black bows on each side. “Viola!” He ran over to the mirror and adjusted it on his head, “damn, I’m sexy,” he winked at his reflection. 

“You’re gross. Now sit down,” Rami demanded, pointing at the bed. 

Ben obliged and sat there patiently while Rami carefully applied his makeup. 

“You’re gonna poke my eye, mate,” Ben dodged and twitched as he tried to put on the eyeliner. 

“If you move one more time, you are gonna be the ugliest bitch there tonight. Now,  _ chill. _ I promise I won’t poke you in the eye,” Rami asserted.

Ben held his breath and looked up the whole time, trying not to flinch or tear up. Then it was mascara, a little blush, and finally a soft pink lipstick. Ben got up and checked himself out for a moment or two before high fiving Rami.

“Good work…. Oh shit, I almost forgot, there are some finishing touches,” Ben exclaimed as he dug through the boxes again, pulling out some black sheer tights and a pair of knee high socks to go with his black ‘ballerina flats’. 

Rami was rolling around on the floor, in tears, hysterical over watching Ben struggle to pull up the tights. Ben was on the bed, on his back, one leg up in the air, tight halfway up his calf. 

“Maybe you  _ should’ve  _ skipped leg day,” Rami said, cracking himself up.

Ben kicked around a little, “stop laughing and help me, you wanker!”

It was in that moment, of Ben in full drag, on his back, Rami standing over him, pulling the slack from the stockings over his toes, when Gwil opened the door. 

All three of them stood frozen in time. Rami’s eyes wide and Ben’s lips stuck in an “ooo” shape. Gwil just stood there, mouth agape. 

“It’s crossdressing night at the Red Fox,” Ben said, with a sheepish smile, “thought I’d give it a go.”

Gwil, still speechless walked into the room and approached his friend, Rami stepped back but Ben didn’t move. The tall man stepped up and grabbed the loose end of the stockings gently, “you don’t wanna get a run in your tights, love. You’re a  _ lady _ now so you’ve gotta be _delicate_,” he joked and started helping Ben put on the garment. 

All of the tension in the room dissipated, and Ben started laughing, “yes, mother dearest”. 

When Ben was all ready and the plan was set, it was Rami’s turn to get Joe on board. 

“I’ll text you the time for the rendezvous,” Rami said as he headed out the door.

“Cheers, mate,” was all Ben replied as his new friend walked out. 

\----------

_The Red Fox,_ Joe and Rami had arrived. They jumped out of their uber and made for the entrance. Joe had reluctantly agreed to a night out, in celebration of the end of midterm week. He read a big sign on the front window as they passed, **Drag Night.** _Oh, boy._

The dimly lit space was an assault to the senses. The air was thick with smoke and the energy of moving bodies. The pulsations from the deep bass went rumbling through Joe’s chest. The only main sources of light were the strobes and lasers flashing to briefly illuminate patrons here and there. There was a vibrant mix of people here, unlike Joe had ever seen. Drag queens glittering from head to toe, in extravagant costumes, others looking more casual. Although, most of the club-goers were men, there was still a fair amount of ladies. Some of them, too, dressed in drag for the occasion. People were everywhere, at the bar, on the dancefloor, in the halls. You had to brush up against all the bodies to make your way through the crowd. Some people wore next to nothing, while others dressed to the nines. There were couples shamelessly making out in corners, and partners grinding on each other sensually to the music. Everything about the vibe of this place was visceral . Or maybe the shots he and Rami pounded while their driver was waiting outside were finally getting to his head. Through the haze of moving bodies and smoke, he and Rami squeezed their way into the middle of the packed dance floor. The alcohol coursing through their veins, numbing any inhibitions, they started grooving like a pair of silly grade schoolers. They laughed and twirled one another by the hand, and cheered each other on with their drunk words of encouragement while they busted out their best moves, neither caring what anybody might think. 

\------------------

Ben was standing casually at the bar, enjoying the warm buzz from the drinks a few different guys had offered to buy him.  _ Not gonna pass up free booze, _ he thought despite knowing that he was blatantly playing each man who approached him, chatted him up, and offered him a drink.  _ It’s like clockwork. But am I really the bad guy here? They probably just wanna take me home.  _ Ben decided he had his fill of drinks and turned down the charm. He just wanted to bask in the heavy aura of this club and do some people watching. 

He saw a lot of strange people doing a lot of unusual things without any shame or fear of repercussion.  _ God if anyone from the team ever caught me here - like this. _ But he envied this sense of community. The camaraderie among all of these outcasts. It felt so free and refreshing to Ben. He felt safe here. The same atmosphere he enjoyed earlier at the flat with Rami and Gwilym.

His eyes scanned over his surroundings, darting from the go-go dancer on stage to the sea of bodies on the floor. Even this overstimulating place with its loud music couldn’t drown out the thought of Joe from his subconscious mind. He felt a tinge of something like homesickness wash over him for a second when he thought of Joe, and how he’d been avoiding him and the dorm for a week. But he shoved that thought down as he moved into the throng of people, dancing bodies all around him, bending him at their will. It felt like he was crowd surfing, and he wasn’t about to fight it.  _ Time to find them. _

\------------

Joe was lost in reckless abandon when he was suddenly lifted off the ground and spun around playfully by a slightly taller guy who had cut in. Joe had seen him before. It took a minute for him to register where, as he started dancing with the new person. His hair was jet black, and some of it fell in his face as bangs, swept off to the side.  _ He's in my film analysis course, that's it.  _

"I never thought I'd find you in a place like this," he leaned forward and crooned in Joe's ear, "must be my lucky night". 

Joe could see Rami's expression over the other boy's shoulder. He was grinning, but made some gesture that he was heading somewhere. Joe couldn’t quite make out the words he was mouthing.

_ What the hell, why not,  _ Joe thought as he danced with his class acquaintance. Rami got quickly swept off in the crowd, dancing with anyone who dared to face him as he passed by. 

\--------

Ben had become one with the body of people, when suddenly he saw a familiar head of auburn locks momentarily rise above the tide of humans.  _ Was that Joe,  _ he thought. And pushed his way in that direction, when suddenly he bumped into Rami. “I was looking for you,” Ben said.

Their eyes locked and Rami smirked, "a pretty lady like you coming to a place like this unaccompanied? How scandalous," he said while winking and elbowing the blonde in his side. 

"Where’s Joe" he glanced around and asked loudly over the booming music. 

"He's a little occupied. Better go get him," Rami nodded his head in the direction of his friend, and shot Ben a playful pair of finger guns as he squeezed past him to go find a new dance partner. 

Ben took a deep breath as he saw Joe dancing with another person.  _ No fights tonight, _ he promised himself.  _ I’m a lady, right? Act delicate, like Gwil said, _ he thought, adjusting his wig. He neared the two unnoticed and interrupted by grabbing Joe’s hand softly. The redhead whipped around. It was obvious by his expression that it took some time to register who exactly was standing before him. 

“ _ Babe _ , I’ve been looking for you,” he pouted and winked playfully. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I had to give Rogerina an appearance. It's just a one time thing. I had so much fun writing the makeover scene. 
> 
> Comment below which songs you imagined playing in the club. 
> 
> Also, any Stony Steve/Tony marvel shippers should check out my IRL friend @ircnshield on twitter cause she helps me whenever I get writers block.


	6. Ad Lib

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That escalated quickly.

Ben smirked and pulled Joe into him. Joe, doing a quadruple take at this point, letting his eyes wander up and down Ben's feminine form. 

“ _ Ben _ ,” he questioned, and his voice came out a little higher than he meant it to. His cheeks flushed a deep shade of rouge despite the immense shock. 

Not taking his sultry green eyes off the other’s, Ben took both of Joe’s hands in his own and placed them on his waist. 

“Are you really gonna refuse a cute girl like me,” he teased in a girlish tone as he moved his hands up around Joe’s neck, bringing them even closer together. Their faces only inches apart, Joe leaned in a bit more to rest his forehead against the blonde’s, and let out a breathy laugh. 

“Just when I thought I’d seen all your tricks,” he said, smiling, and their noses softly brushed against one another. 

“Then I’ve got another surprise for you,” Ben said as he closed the gap between their lips. At first the kiss was light, their mouths barely connecting. Joe’s hands traveled up Ben’s waist to the back of his neck, and Ben grasped Joe’s hips tightly, forcing them against his own. They seemed to match each other’s pace perfectly, angling their heads slightly to deepen the kiss. 

Rami was watching from the bar, clapping excitedly for his friends and hopping on his tip-toes, trying to get a better view over the crowd. All the while he was praying that he remembered to use the ‘superstay’ lipstick for Ben. 

They slowly pulled their faces back just an inch, breathing heavily, but kept their bodies flush against each other, awkwardly rocking side to side, out of sync with the fast-paced music blaring in the club. But neither could care less. They were suddenly both so caught up in this pulsing feeling of desperation to take one another.

Ben grinned, “see the lengths I have to go to just to impress you,” he flirted and twirled a strand of the wig around his finger sensually.

“I missed you. So goddamn much. When are you gonna come home,” Joe basically pleaded.

“ _ Home?  _ Sounds like a good place where we can be alone,” he smiled mischievously.

\--------------

The pair didn’t even have the patience to wait until they got home, shamelessly making out in the back of the uber. No doubt, earning some suspicious glances from the driver in the rear view mirror. 

They finally got back to the dorm, and Ben gave Joe a little twirl in his outfit, “you never told me what you think,” he said, bending forward to give a flirtatious curtsy while holding out the edges of his skirt effeminately and fluttering his long lashes. 

Joe brought his index finger to his chin and frowned in thought while scrutinizing his roommate for a drawn out moment before snickering, “Ehh. 5 out of 10.”

Ben huffed dramatically and put his hands on his hips, “careful, mate. This 5 can beat your ass,” he retorted as he seductively loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. 

“Wait,” Joe hesitated, “you don’t have to take it off  _ yet. _ ”

“Why not,” he eyed the redhead suspiciously, “you want some risque pics for the fap folder?”

With that, he spread himself out on Joe’s bed in an inviting manner. He bit his lower lip, “are you hot and bothered yet, daddy~”

Joe, who had just taken off his cardigan blushed and threw the balled up piece of clothing at Ben’s face, “stooOop, please! You’re too into this,” he laughed. 

“So did you do this all by yourself,” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed to admire his friend up close.

“Might’ve had a little help,” he admitted, crossing his arms up behind his head. 

“From who,” Joe asked, unwilling to believe that any of the guys Ben regularly hangs around would ever participate.

“Are you really_ that_ _ daft _ to believe it was purely coincidence that you and I were at the  _ same  _ club on the  _ same _ night at the  _ same _ time,” Ben pratted. 

“Damn. Rami” Joe said, the realization hitting him like a bus, “he’s good.” 

Ben merely pouted and nodded in confirmation.

“Well, I’m glad to see that my friends are your friends,” Joe jested, “guess I’m gonna have to start dating Gwil now,” he said, feigning jealousy. 

“But why? I’m all yours.  _ Besides _ ,” he purred as he crawled into Joe’s lap, “you already told me that you  _ like me the most, _ ” he finished before capturing Joe’s lips possessively, and pushing him back on the bed to straddle his hips. Joe felt his breath catch in his throat, as he let out a soft moan in response to the sudden pressure of Ben’s ass grinding on his crotch.

Joe kissed him back feverishly, grabbing his tie and pulling him in closer. Ben bit Joe’s lower lip playfully, earning an opportune gasp so he could gently slip his tongue into the slender boy’s mouth. Joe also taking the chance to run his tongue over Ben's lip, and return the favor. 

After a few moments, Ben pulled away, and giggled softly at the smudge of lipstick left behind on the other’s face before tenderly smudging it off with his thumb. He leaned back in his lap and took in the full view of Joe’s breathless form, “do you want me,” he inquired, raising a brow.

Joe’s breathing was labored and he felt light headed, his whole body alight with the sensation of Ben. All he could do was nod, and stare hungrily into the other man’s pretty green eyes. 

“Hmm,” Ben hummed in thought, daring to make the next move. He slid back off of Joe’s lap, a feeling of pride washing over him as he noticed Joe’s hard-on showing through his pants. He smirked to himself and knelt at Joe’s feet, which were still hanging off the edge of the bed. He positioned himself in between Joe’s legs and started making quick work of the other boy’s pants, undoing the buttons and zipper. The ginger shifted a little to help free himself from the jeans as Ben yanked them down. 

“Wait _ , _ ” Joe finally squeaked, looking down at the gorgeous man perched between his legs.  _ Fuck, Ben looks so sexy on his knees, _ he thought and he felt his cock throb, still confined by his briefs. 

Ben only looked up expectantly, doe-eyed and awaiting whatever Joe had to tell him.

“I just...don’t want this to be another meaningless fuck for you, Ben. I don’t want to be that to you. I  _ want you _ more than anything right now, but it’s not worth it to me if tomorrow we just go back to how things were.”

Ben stood up and leaned forward, squeezing Joe’s thigh encouragingly as he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. “Is that how it’s gonna be, huh? Do you think of me that way,” he inquired thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side.

“Ben, I - I really. I wanna be with you...yeah, like that,” he admitted shyly, “and I’ve never thought that about anybody else.”

The blonde could only blush and grin despite himself, hearing Joe say such sentimental things gave him the sense of belonging he’d be craving forever. 

“Sure that’s not just the alcohol talking,” he joked.

“ _ I’m serio-” _

“I know,” he cut Joe off, placing a finger over his lips, “just relax. Let me  _ show you _ how I feel, Joe.” 

Joe didn’t get a chance to respond as Ben tugged his underwear off and sat back down between his thighs, beginning to stroke his growing erection languidly. Joe panted and sighed in return, throwing his head back in pleasure, his eyes fluttering closed as Ben licked the underside of his cock from the base to the tip before taking all of it into his mouth. 

_ “Fffuck,” _ Joe hissed, as he reached down to tangle his fingers in the blonde wig.  _ I don’t think I can last very long like this, _ he thought, other hand gripping the sheets for dear life. Ben paused for a moment to shimmy his tights and underwear down to his knees, ripping the stockings in his impatience. His free hand snaked down between his own legs to work himself while his other hand continued pumping the base of Joe’s dick. Ben let out a throaty groan as he went back to sucking his roommate off, still touching himself. 

It didn’t take long until they were both at their limit.

“Ben, st- ahhhh,” the redhead whined as he suddenly reached climax. Ben backing off just in time for Joe’s cum to splatter the front of his blouse instead of his face. He looked down at his shirt, almost offended, and looked back up at Joe who grimaced a little. The two started laughing at the strangeness of the situation. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the dry cleaning, cutie,” Joe cooed, as he pulled his briefs back up and patted the spot on the bed next to him. Ben still hadn’t finished. 

He obliged, and laid back on the bunk beside him. Joe stayed sitting up, marveling at the sight of the beauty queen that lay before him, cum stained shirt and all, and he couldn’t resist the urge to run his hand up Ben’s thigh, shoving the fabric of the skirt up to expose him, his cock half-erect at this point. Joe roughly taking it into his hand and stroking it, admiring the twisted expression of bliss on Ben’s face as he gradually worked up the pace. Ben grit his teeth and grunted, and Joe felt his member tense up as cum decorated underside of the skirt. 

Ben let out a heavy sigh before carefully wiggling out of the skirt, and discarding the soiled shirt onto the floor. With an air of finality, he threw the wig across the room and ran a hand through his natural locks, tousling them back into their original state. He crawled back onto the bed, and cuddled up beside Joe, the two quickly drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing any sort of smut. And lemme tell you...it's an awkward thing to do. 
> 
> I was simultaneously both people in this vine while writing this:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lItNYsksvUA
> 
> Thank you for your continued support, love you guys and hope you enjoyed the pr0nz.


	7. Scouted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and his closet life. Joe having standards. Lucy is here for who exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucy enters the mix. Don't worry. I promise you she's not the bad guy.   
And this ain't a Joe/Lucy fic.

Joe awoke when Ben lazily rolled out of bed. He watched, still half asleep, as he opened the window and lit up a cigarette, a drafty breeze rushing over Joe’s bare back. He pulled the blankets up over himself, but couldn’t look away from Ben’s beautiful silhouette, the morning sun shining in from behind him. The only indication that last night had been more than just a dream was the smudged remains of eyeliner and mascara around Ben’s eyes. 

Ben sighed and blew one last cloud of smoke out of the window before shutting it. When he turned around and noticed Joe’s groggy eyes staring at him, he smiled sweetly and walked back over to the bed. 

“Morning, sunshine,” he said as he ruffled Joe’s mahogany locks, “I think we  _ both _ need a shower”.

Joe covered his face with the pillow to hide the blush spreading across his cheeks, “you can go first, I doubt we can both fit.”

“We won’t know unless we try,” Ben chimed in a playful sing song tone, and wrapped his strong arms around the boy’s lithe waist and hoisted him over his shoulder.

“Ah! Put me down, Ben! It’s way too early for this,” Joe protested and weakly punched against his kidnapper’s strong back.

“Too early? You said you wanna be with me, right? That means you’ve gotta keep up with me,” Ben teased, disregarding his struggle, and carefully carried him into the bathroom, being extra careful not to knock any limbs into the door frame. He set the other down gently on the edge of the counter. 

“Alright. First line of business,” Ben said in a serious tone, “there can be no trace of this,” he said pointing to the makeup on his eyes. 

“I’ve got a game at noon today and there’s no way anybody can know about last night.” 

_ Ah, right. Saturday. Game day. Maybe I’ll go,  _ Joe thought, still half asleep. 

“Not even Gwilym knows?”

“He’s the only exception, but he knows better than to tell anyone. Less he wants to see his mate flayed alive by the whole football team.”

Joe winced, “so, you’re just gonna keep hiding who you are?” 

Ben shot him a dangerous glare, “you mean like I’ve done my whole life? You think I can’t handle holding on a bit longer,” he said defensively.

“Until  _ when _ ?”

“I dunno. It’s not like I have a choice. I know now that I have a few good people I can trust and be myself around. And that’s all that matters to me. But for now, I’m not ready to be myself to the public. If that bothers you, well...take it or leave it,” he said, shrugging as he bent over the sink and began violently lathering the makeup off his eyes. 

Joe sighed, feeling conflicted. He respected the fact that Ben wasn’t ready to be public about his sexuality, but that also meant Ben wasn’t ready to be public  _ with him _ .

“I get it, Ben. I get it. But I’m not going to be your dirty little secret,” he said with an air of finality, and started the shower.

Ben was still at the sink, scrubbing his face for the third time in a row, trying to remove the final remnants of makeup. He paused mid-rinse, “come on, Joe, don’t be like that. It will be fine this way.”

“ _ No, Ben _ . I support you, and I respect your decision to be out or not, but I’ll do that as your  _ friend _ . And I hope you can do the same for me,” Joe’s solemn voice echoed from inside the shower. 

Ben finished up at the sink, and startled Joe as he hastily whipped open the shower curtain, stepping in with him. 

“Sure thing,  _ friend, _ ” he said, seductively as he pinned the skinnier boy up against the wall, Joe’s back arching away from the cold tile. 

“W-what are you doing,” Joe stared him down and tried to sound firm.

“Oh, nothing,” Ben purred as he momentarily pressed his naked body up against Joe’s and kissed him before quickly pulling away and releasing his hold on the other man. 

Joe just turned away to hide his embarrassment and started shampooing his hair vigorously as if he could scrub the dirty thoughts from his mind. 

“ _ Idiot”, _ he said offhandedly. 

Ben smiled at himself for getting Joe so worked up. 

“This is ok, right? We’re just conserving water,” Ben laughed arrogantly and started scrubbing himself down with a loofah. 

\---------

The athlete was already in his uniform before Joe had even managed to pull a sweater over his head.

“Gonna go meet Gwil for some brekky before the game,” Ben said as he made for the door. 

“Will I see you there, or is that a only a perk if we’re more than friends, ” he jested.

“Hmmmmm,” Joe said tapping his chin, “I might be able to squeeze it into my busy schedule,” he laughed.

“Good. I’ll score a goal just for you, love,” he winked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Joe dismissed him facetiously, “go enjoy your beans and toast, you freak.”

\---------

Not moments after Ben had left, Rami basically kicked in his door. 

“Spill it,” he demanded, “I need to know everything,” he said, jumping onto his friend’s bed dramatically. 

Joe applauded, “gotta hand it to you, man. You really set me up. Oh and uh Ben - was your finest work yet. A masterpiece, I dare say,” he giggled. 

“Pfft! I know,” Rami said, turning up his chin proudly, “so, are you guys a thing now or what?”

“Naaah,” Joe said casually, “I like my girls a little less buff.”

Rami slugged him in the arm, “what do you mean ‘naaaaaa’,” he pressed for details, mocking Joe with an ugly face. 

“Well, we...we did  _ do stuff, _ but...we aren’t a thing. I told him I don’t want to be, because he still wants to live his undercover Ben life, ya know.”

“Ahhhh, I see. Guess that makes sense. I didn’t realize you had standards, Joe,” he said sarcastically, nudging his friend, “I ran into him on the stairs, by the way. He invited me to the game, too. You mind if I tag along?” 

“You? Asking to go watch a game,” Joe looked at him in disbelief. 

“Probably just a one time thing, but I figured after our intimate exchange yesterday I at least owed it to him to be a supportive friend,” Rami rolled his eyes.

Joe eyed his friend quizzically at the choice of words, but decided not to question it. 

“By all means, keep me company. Soccer is too boring compared to baseball,” Joe concluded. 

\------------

By now the autumn chill had come to stay, and the best friends agreed to pick up some hot coffee on their way to the game. When they got there and took their place on the stands, the crowd wasn’t too large yet. After all, this is an American university, so football is the star sport. But there were always fans of soccer who came to cheer the team on whenever they played on the home field. It was different from practices, where Joe stuck out like a sore thumb, the only random boy sitting amongst all the other player’s girlfriends. 

You could tell because it seemed to be a tradition for the athletes to give their girlfriend’s their varsity jackets, which all had the player’s last names embroidered on the back. It was like a jock’s way of marking his property. Come to think of it, Joe had never seen Ben actually wear his Letterman jacket, it was always hanging off the corner of his bed, neglected and collecting dust. 

They sat there, waiting for the game to start, discussing this or that as the stands gradually filled, appreciating the warm coffee cups in their cold hands. There would undoubtedly be more spectators coming to this game, since it was the beginning of the conference championships. They had qualified in the top 4 spots, so for the next month or so they’d be playing for the winning title. This game was the first in that series. Joe turned around in his seat to see how much the stadium had filled behind them, when someone caught his eye. 

A girl sitting about three rows back from them, with platinum blonde hair and the face of a goddess. Joe admired the way her makeup sparkled in the sun, and reflected off her glowing, pale skin. And she was staring right at him.  _ I’m mistaken, right? She’s looking at someone else past me. Wait, is she looking at Rami? Maybe he knows her,  _ he thought, but at that moment, she shot him a shy smile and waved. Joe awkwardly twisted forward and didn’t wave back because he didn’t want to look like an idiot when he realized she was waving to some other person in this direction. But a few moments later, and he still felt like he was being watched. Casually taking a sip of his coffee, he tried to play it cool, slightly turning his head back her way to see that she was still looking right at him. 

He choked on his drink a little and Rami looked up from his phone, “you okay?”

“ _ Rami, _ ” he whispered, “there’s a super cute girl behind us, and I think she’s checking me out. Maybe she’s checking you out, I don’t know. But she won’t stop staring and  _ it’s weird. _ Watch your six, but don’t make it too obvious,” he said.

Of course, Rami turned around and immediately waved right at her, to which she shyly pulled her luxurious coat around herself and pretended to be interested in the field, which was currently empty. 

“I’d say she’s looking for you, man. Not me,” Rami decided, “she sure is pretty. Looks like someone straight off the red carpet.” 

“Way to be  _ not obvious _ , Rami.  _ Very well done,”  _ Joe hissed. 

Rami just shrugged and raised his eyebrows, “well, are you gonna talk to her or something?”

“ _ No,” _ Joe cried, “are you stupid or something? First off, she’s out of my league. Second, she’s probably just mistaking me for someone else,” Joe said matter of factly and focused on ignoring the feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head while the teams finally ran out onto the field.  _ Game time _ . 

Ben scanned the crowds from his center mid position, looking for Joe’s tell-tale auburn locks shining in the sun. His eyes finally landed on him, and he threw up a peace sign from the field, Joe and Rami both waving in return. 

The teams turned out to be pretty evenly matched and as they were finally nearing the end of the game, they were still tied up 0 - 0. But, sure enough, Ben kept his promise, and with a few minutes left to spare, he ran the ball up the middle, staying in line with the forwards, lined up the pass and ended up scoring the rebound goal - the goal he promised to Joe. Running back to the middle of the field, he looked right up at Joe and dramatically blew him a kiss. Rami snickered as he watched his friend get all flustered beside him. 

“Ooooo your boyfriend’s so cool,” he teased, earning a weak shove from Joe.

The game ended and the crowds were filing out of the stadium, Joe looking down at the stairs as he went to avoid tripping. When suddenly a sweet voice caught his attention. 

“Uh...hey,” he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. It was the girl who had been staring at him. 

It was just the two of them, standing there, looking at each other awkwardly while everyone else around them shuffled out. 

“Um….hi,” Joe questioned, trying not to sound rude.

More silence. 

She blushed and couldn’t meet his gaze, but instead just held out a delicately folded note.

“Here,” she said softly, and he took it after a little hesitation. With that she quickly walked off and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Joe as the lone straggler in the stands. 

He unfolded the small paper in his hand, and written on it, in bright pink ink, was a phone number signed -  ** _Lucy_ ** ♡


	8. Rebound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Gwilym are undercover spies for a hot second. Joe meets up with Lucy.

Ben's team had just finished the traditional end-game handshake of good sportsmanship with their opponents. The blonde was grinning ear to ear. Proud of himself for winning the game and managing to keep his promise to Joe at the same time. 

The group was jogging off of the field to head back to the locker room, and Ben looked up to see if he could catch a glimpse of Joe wandering out of the stands. What he saw instead froze him in his tracks. He stood there, now alone on the field looking up at Joe lingering behind in the amphitheater, talking to a beautiful girl.  _ Joe’s never mentioned anything about a girl, _ he thought. He watched a little apprehensively as the girl handed Joe something and walked off, leaving Joe looking like he had been enchanted by a princess. Ben shook his head, bringing himself back to reality, and trotted off, feeling a little forlorn. 

_ He looked nervous, she looked nervous. I’m not sure which is worse,  _ Ben couldn’t shake the image the entire time he showered and got changed in the locker room. 

Back at the dorm, Joe was working on more class projects, when he was momentarily distracted by the memory of the girl with the note.  _ Lucy, _ he thought,  _ should I even bother messaging her? She seemed nice enough. I mean, it would be rude not to at least acknowledge her. I guess there’s nothing to lose. _

Joe convinced himself to do the nice thing, and reached for the note, copying the number into his contacts.  _ L-u-c-y. There.  _

**Hey, it’s Joe. The guy from the game today.**

**Hi, Joe. I wasn’t sure if you’d text me back, but I’m glad you did :)**

**So, um. Why did you want me to have your number?**

**Why don’t we discuss that in person? ;) Over a coffee maybe?**

**Sure, I guess. Sometime tomorrow? **

**Great! How about the cafe near the library at around 2 o’clock? **

**Ok, see you then.**

_ Why do I do this to myself, _ Joe felt a pit of dread grow in his stomach at the thought of interacting with a stranger. But he remembered what Rami always told him about needing to venture out of his comfort zone and trying to make more friends aside from him.  _ Blah blah blah. Ok, maybe I can stand to make a new friend. I could see us getting along,  _ he tried to reason with every anti-social cell in his body that was screaming to just ghost this girl. 

Soon after, Ben came back to the dorm, lugging all of the things that he had temporarily moved over to Gwilym’s house. 

“Oh, so does this mean you’re finally here to stay,” Joe teased as he helped Ben drag the heavy bags to his corner. 

“I decided I had no choice. Wouldn’t want you dying from missing me so much,” Ben winked, “by the way, pretty nice goal, huh,” he added arrogantly. 

“The things I have to do to impress you,” he sighed dramatically, pretending to be inconvenienced.

“Who said I was impressed,” Joe smirked, “Rami might’ve been, but me? Nah,” he joked and Ben tackled him onto his bunk playfully. 

“Let’s see  _ you _ do it then, mate,” he laughed as he intentionally crushed Joe under his weight.

Joe was laughing too, and he wrestled to push the stronger male off him, until they were both interrupted by the sound of Joe’s phone vibrating on the wooden nightstand. Ben rolled off to make room for Joe to reach over and pick up the device.

Ben snuck a glance at the screen as he tapped open the message notification.  _ Who’s Lucy?  _

**See ya ❤**

_ See him? See him where? With a heart emoji?  _ Ben’s mind was running a mile a minute.

Joe didn’t respond, and set his phone down. 

“So,” Ben began, “you wanna go to the arcade with Gwil and I tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? I would, but I’ve got plans,” Joe stated, keeping his word to the girl he just met.

“ _ You _ have plans,” Ben asked, sounding incredulous. 

“Yeah,” Joe responded, a little annoyed by Ben’s rude tone, “got a hot date,” he joked, knowing it would irk the athlete. However, Ben reacted differently than Joe expected. 

“Oh.”

And that was all he got in response. No challenge, no joke, no irritation. Just Ben conceding and flopping onto his bed in the alcove with a bag of chips, staring at the ceiling as he munched away.

_ He didn’t even bother asking what time,  _ Ben lamented,  _ just automatically turned me down. Maybe he really does have a date? No way, I’m just being stupid. Joe doesn’t move that fast.  _

\------------

Sunday had arrived, and Joe felt nervous as the clock approached 2.  _ Shit. I don’t wanna go _ , his conscience pleaded, _ no, come on. I can make friends. I’ve got this.  _ He stood up and straightened himself out in the mirror, gently ruffling his hair and adjusting his hoodie before heading to the coffee shop where they had agreed to meet. 

As soon as Ben knew Joe was gone, he dialed up his cellphone.

“Gwil, change of plans.”

“What? _ ” _

“The arcade isn’t important right now. Just be ready and I’ll text you the rendezvous point.”

“ _ Okayyyyyyyy? Ben what’s -” _

But Ben had already hung up and flew out the door. He couldn’t afford to lose track of Joe. He spied him from the second floor stairwell and made sure to follow him from a good distance. Every now and then, popping out of sight behind a pillar or a bush. Joe went inside the cafe, and Ben whipped out his phone. 

**Meet me at the library coffee shop, stat. But don’t go inside.**

**Ben, you’re a freak. I can see you.**

Gwil already happened to be walking through the central courtyard, adjacent to the cafe, when he spotted Ben crouched down behind a bench. When he got close, Ben yanked him down.

“Don’t blow my cover, man,” he whispered sharply.

“What’s this about, Ben,” Gwilym asked, trying to ignore the fact that passersby were looking at them strangely. 

“It’s Joe. I think he’s on a date, but I don’t know for sure so I came to confirm,” he explained.

“I think you’re crazy, but whatever. I’ll play along with your stupid plan,” Gwil said.

“We need a better position,” he said, observing their surroundings, “okay, on my signal, we’re gonna enter through the west doors and sit down in a corner,” he handed his friend a Sports Illustrated magazine and took out a copy of GQ for himself. Gwil looked at his friend with an expression that could only mean ‘ _ what the fuck’. _ But he nonetheless followed Ben’s lead as he rushed into the cafe, occupied a seat in the darkest corner, and quickly flipped the magazine open, holding it close to his face for cover. Luckily, the cafe was crowded with Sunday study-bugs, so nobody seemed to pay any attention to their awkward entrance.

Ben lowered the magazine just enough for his eyes to peek over the top, and he looked everywhere for any sign of the redhead. Target spotted. On the opposite side of the populated room, he saw Joe standing to greet a pretty blonde girl who had just arrived. Joe reached to shake her hand, but she completely ignored it and went in for a friendly kiss on his cheek. 

“Oh, noooooo,” Ben drawled out, “he wasn’t lying. She is hot. Super hot. What do I do, Gwil?!”

His friend raised his eyebrows and exhaled at the loaded question, “dunno, mate. She is _well fit_,” he shrugged.

“Not helping,” Ben gritted. 

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I think you in drag made for a prettier girl than she does,” he tried to cheer his friend up, earning only a small laugh. “Let’s just wait. A kiss like that means nothing. It probably isn’t a date.”

Right after he said that, Ben’s hopes were immediately shattered when, rather than sit at the chair across from Joe, she opted to cozy up right next to him. “What the  _ fuck, _ ” he hissed, pulling the magazine back up over his eyes. 

“I’ve seen enough,” he said, and he and Gwilym both decided to abort the mission and head off to the arcade.  _ I’m so mad at myself. I can’t believe it’s only been two days since that night and I’m already being replaced.  _

\-----------------

After about an hour of getting to know each other, Joe felt like he could relax a little. Lucy was really sweet and had this warm, inviting energy about her. She might’ve been a little touchy for his personal tastes, but he was having fun talking with her. 

Finally, a silence fell between them and she sighed, and looked up at Joe.

“Look, Joe...I don’t want to beat around the bush. You seem like a really cool guy. Do you want to know why I wanted to meet you here today?”

Joe smirked, not really surprised, “I knew a pretty girl like you had some kind of ulterior motive to hang out with a guy like me. Come on, I can handle the truth,” he laughed.

“ _ Nooo, _ no. It’s not  _ like that. _ Well, not exactly. I’ve been wanting to meet you, too. But you see...I often see you and your friend come here….you know…” she trailed, blushing.

“Oh, Rami?”

“ _ Rami,”  _ she said, savoring the name as it rolled off her tongue, “yes, well. This Rami you speak of. I - I have a really big crush on him, but I’m too shy to talk to him myself. So, I thought maybe if you knew me, you could tell him for me,” she confessed. 

Joe nearly burst into hysterical laughter when the irony of the whole thing settled in, but refrained.  _ This girl….is too afraid to talk to Rami? Ahahaha! What is happening?  _

“Wow, I’m sure he’d be flattered. He complimented you at the game, you know,” Joe replied.

“Did he,” she sounded optimistic, as she bashfully pushed a lock of golden hair behind her ear. 

“Yeah, well. I’ll be sure to tell him. Do you want me to give you his number, or vice versa,” Joe offered.

“You can give him mine,” she chirped and stood up to plant another quick peck on Joe’s cheek, “it was really nice to meet  _ you, Joe.  _ And I’m not just saying that. I hope we can be good friends.”

Joe smiled and nodded as he waved goodbye, eager to run off and tell his best friend what a lucky guy he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What even is this story at this point? Help me. Lol.   
Ben is jelly~


	9. We are the Champions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one gets really sappy. I'm sorry.

Ben sat on a nearby machine, looking conflicted with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his fist while he watched Gwilym play another round of skee ball. His friend obviously knew why he was acting so distant, but didn’t want to push the issue. Instead trying to distract him as best he could.

“Ben, come play the mario kart machines with me? It’s more fun to race a friend,” he encouraged. 

Ben nodded and mindlessly followed Gwil. He took a seat in one of the fake racing chairs, and grabbed hold of the steering wheel. He picked Yoshi without putting much thought into it and as the game started, you could tell his body may have been here on planet earth, but his mind was somewhere else. Usually Ben was the type to be competitive, but here he was, peacefully taking his time. Playing Mario Kart like it was a leisure drive. Of course, the taller man won without much contest, Donkey Kong celebrating on the screen as he crossed the finish line first. 

They were sitting at the bar, snacking on some chicken wings at Gwil’s suggestion - in hopes that getting some food in Ben’s stomach might magically make him feel better. But instead, the blonde was just picking at a bone, not really eating much. 

“Does it really bother you  _ that badly _ ,” the brunette finally decided to ask.

“I didn’t think it would make me so angry to see him with another person, but... _ yeah _ ,” he declared, crunching down on a piece of celery.

“Well, then maybe you should do something about it,” his friend stated simply.

Ben just stared back at him with questioning eyes, “like?”

“Look. If you think Joe is important to you, you’re gonna have to decide what’s  _ more  _ important.”

Ben sighed and crossed his arms on the table, laying his head down, defeated. “ _ I know, _ that’s what I’ve been thinking about all afternoon.”

“If I’m being realistic here, I don’t think most of the guys on the team would even be bothered,” Gwilym pointed out.

“But what if they are? And besides, now couldn’t be a worse time. We’ve gotta focus on winning these championships. I can’t go fucking up the team chemistry,” Ben added, running a hand through his hair in an exasperated fashion. 

Ben made a solid point, and Gwil found himself at a loss for words.

“Besides, I don’t even know if he would consider me an option anymore. He might pick his new girlfriend over me, and then I’d be risking it all for nothing,” he expressed.

Gwil reached out, and patted his friend on the arm sympathetically, “Yeah, but you lose either way if it means you’re gonna be moping about like this forever. I think everything will fall into place, mate. Just gotta wait for the right moment.”

\-----------------------

A couple of weeks had passed since Joe’s initial meeting with Lucy and he had come to like her even more as a person. In fact, they got along so well that he asked her to star in one of his film projects for class. Being the sweet person she is, she was more than willing. Even in such a short span of time, she, Rami, and Joe had basically become the three amigos. Rami was, of course, ecstatic from the get-go at the prospect of having such a gorgeous girl fawn all over him. And the two hit it off immediately. Although, Joe still couldn’t quite tell if things were going to head in a romantic direction or not. 

Everything was going well, minus the fact that now that he had this amazing group of friends he always wanted to be around, he had been neglecting Ben. It didn’t seem to be a huge deal, considering the athlete was super busy with practices because they had advanced in the championships and it was getting down to the wire. So, Joe kind of figured Ben had Gwilym during any free time, and that probably made more sense, seeing as they played together.  _ Team bonding or whatever you wanna call it. _ Joe still hadn’t missed a game, even when they played away. He knew how hard his roommate had been working, and it meant a lot to him to see it pay off. Yesterday they beat out the third place team, which means next weekend they would fight for the ultimate title - the final game. Joe was so excited for Ben’s success, even if their relationship hadn’t maintained its closeness throughout the past few weeks. He chalked the blonde’s recent indifference up to preoccupation with his sports. 

It was hard for Joe in the sense that now he was the third wheel to Rami and Lucy’s publicly flirtatious nature. A part of him wished something like this could have worked out between him and Ben. But he always felt guilty when he thought about the pressures that forced Ben into hiding. Joe didn’t want to add more stress to the mix. In fact, if he could, he would set Ben free from all of it. And carry his burdens instead. So, for that, he just left Ben alone because he knew it was out of his hands. Not to mention, with the Fall semester coming to a close and December fast approaching, he was overwhelmed with hours of editing work for class projects. 

He was alone in the dorm one evening, working on said assignments, when Ben entered the room. He had a bag of fast food, and invited himself to sit on Joe’s bed, watching him edit films while he ate. Occasionally, he held a french fry up to Joe’s mouth, which he happily took. Other than the sound of rustling from the brown paper bag, the room was silent. Until Joe started editing a scene of Lucy. As soon as her visage popped up on Joe’s computer screen, Ben shifted uncomfortably. 

“S’that your hot date,” he asked pointedly, mouth still half full.

“Oh, Lucy,” Joe paused to chuckle, “nah.”

“Just a hot fuck, then,” he pushed.

Joe shot him a dirty look, “no. She’s just a friend.”

“Oh, so then how come you’ve failed to mention her all this time,” Ben asserted.

“I don’t know, maybe because I don’t need your supervision, Ben. My friends shouldn’t be of concern to you. I haven’t met a single man on your team besides Gwilym, but you don’t see me bitching about it,” Joe said, a little annoyed at Ben’s presumption. 

“Yeah, well they don’t kiss me. And they don’t send me texts with stupid hearts or cling to my arm in the coffee shop,” Ben raised his voice.

“Ben...you? You followed me? You looked at my phone?  _ What the fuck, man, _ ” Joe got up from his desk and stood in front of the toned man sitting boldly on his bed. 

“I’m not even mad, I just can’t believe you have the audacity to still act possessive over me, like  _ you _ should always come first, when I will always be dead last on  _ your _ list of priorities.”

A downcast expression fell over Ben’s features, and he slowly got up off the bed to stand in front of Joe. He gently pulled the redhead into a soft hug, and they remained that way for a long moment. With his head resting on Joe’s shoulder, he finally said, “I’m sorry...you’re right. It’s not my business. I should be happy for you, making friends.”

Joe sighed, “it’s okay, Ben. It’s cute when you’re jealous,” he laughed and Ben slapped him on the ass in objection as he turned away to get back to work at his computer.

Ben hopped back onto Joe’s bed and crumpled up the Wendy’s bag. He tried to shoot it into the garbage bin across the room, but missed miserably and couldn’t be bothered to pick it back up. 

“It’s a good thing you don’t play basketball,” Joe huffed, as he got up from his chair to go pick up his friend’s mess.

Ben just laughed and wrapped himself in one of Joe’s blankets. The outline of the neglected varsity jacket caught Joe’s eye.

“Hey, how come you never wear this,” he asked, picking it up and shaking it free of any dust. 

“I guess I don’t want my entire identity to be based on my athleticism. I’d rather leave that part of me on the field than show it off everywhere.”

“Wait, you mean there’s  _ more _ to your personality than just soccer,” Joe teased, pretending to sound shocked as he hung the coat back on the bed corner. 

Ben just smiled and laid back on Joe’s mattress, and in no time he was out cold.  _ He must be exhausted. Can’t blame him,  _ Joe concluded. When he was finally satisfied with the progress on his film, he quietly closed his laptop and crawled into bed to cuddle up with the sleeping beauty. 

\----------------

It was already the middle of the week, and it seemed to be rushing by so quickly. Ben could hardly keep track of the days. It was Wednesday? It didn’t really matter. Tonight there was practice. It felt like he was playing soccer non-stop, even though he knew that wasn’t true. He wondered how he was even managing to balance a C average in his classes at this point. He sat on the cold metal bench at the edge of the field, and lit up a cigarette. Gwilym was at his side. It was becoming bitterly cold in the evenings and it was difficult to distinguish breath from smoke on every exhale. 

_ We really scored with the roster this season. And it’s unbelievable that there haven’t been any major injuries during the season. On this team, everyone has a role, and they fill it. No questions asked. Good communication, respectful sportsmanship.  _

“Hell, there isn’t a single hothead in the whole lot of us this season. D’ya know how rare that is,” Ben reflected.

“Yeah, mate. Bloody rare. We lucked out. I really think we’re gonna pull this off. The whole  _ champion _ thing,” Gwil replied.

“I hope so,” he paused, “so, I take it that means you’re planning to stay at this school for another season?”

“No point in leaving for my last year,” he shrugged.

“I plan on staying, too,” Ben announced.

“Good, cause it’d be fuck all without you,” his friend added, “and I bet Joe would agree, even if he’s got some cute girl to shag.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ben clapped his hands to his face, embarrassed, “about that. She’s his mate’s girl, apparently.”

“Honestly, that’s somehow more shocking,” the lanky man laughed, “but, hey. Now’s your chance. Season’s almost over, the team isn’t gonna matter anymore, at least not for a little while.”

“Winter break,” Ben shook his head, “a whopping month away to come back and suddenly be a bum boy, yeah?”

Gwil couldn’t help but cackle in response to his friend’s vulgar humour. “Point taken,” he said.

\-----------------------------

It was Friday night and Lucy, Rami, and Joe all decided to hang out at Rami’s dorm and watch holiday movies to get in the spirit of the season. They picked  _ Home Alone _ as they were all in need of a good laugh to distract them from the impending doom of final project due dates. Rami and Lucy were cozied up on Rami’s bed and Joe was laid back in an oversized bean bag chair on the floor. 

None of them had Friday classes, so they had spent the majority of the day together in the library, studying and working on assignments. Work was always more fun in the company of friends. 

All athletes were required to attend tutoring once a week to help keep them up to speed on classwork, which is how Ben usually spent his Friday afternoons. Tonight would be the most important practice of the season, the night before the big game. Their last chance to perfect their technical performance and sort out their plays and strategies. But Ben had more on his mind, aside from the game. 

Even after practice, as he lay in bed, Ben felt nervous. But he wasn’t nervous about soccer or studying. All he could think about was Joe. Even though Joe was currently sitting where he always did - at his desk, on his computer. Ben felt that with each passing day he didn’t make Joe his own, he was losing him. And it didn’t help knowing that he’d be flying back to the UK for the holiday, unable to see his roommate for nearly a whole month.  _ What if we don’t get placed together next semester? Will he just forget about me? _ He felt like their days together were numbered. And he fell asleep with that nightmare in his head. 

\--------------

Ben woke up like he usually did on the weekends, to the sounds and smells of Joe making coffee. Something about it was such a comforting part of his routine, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything. Rounding the corner and seeing the slim boy in his pajamas, half asleep and fumbling noisily with the coffee machine - it was his favorite part about waking up. Ben’s cherry lips spread into a soft smile and he walked up behind Joe and hugged him from behind, causing the other to jump and spill coffee grounds everywhere. 

“Ugh.  _ Bennnn, _ ” he groaned.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he hummed in Joe’s ear, kissing the side of his neck before letting him go. 

Ben made himself a cup of tea and sat on Joe’s bed. 

“You should invite all of your friends along for the big game. It would mean a lot,” Ben affirmed, voice still groggy from sleep. 

“Sure, I’ll see who I can wrangle into coming,” Joe said, sipping his coffee, eyes still refusing to open. 

Ben huffed, “you make it sound like such a chore.”

“Everybody knows baseball is superior, what can I say?”

“You know Rami isn’t interested in watching  _ either. _ That’s just your opinion,” Ben rolled his eyes. 

Joe snickered and sat down beside Ben, cup in hand, “good luck out there today. You’re gonna kill it.”

“If I do, will you consider being my secret boyfriend,” Ben half joked.

Joe sat there and pretended to consider his offer before shaking his head, “no can do, sorry”.

“Damn,” he said, trying to sound as disappointed as possible, and he walked over to his corner to start getting changed. He was packing his stuff into a duffle bag when he noticed his varsity jacket, a beam of sun illuminating the blue embroidery that read  _ Hardy.  _ He stared at it thoughtfully for a moment, before shoving it into his bag. 

“They’ll expect us out there early,” Ben said as he gulped the rest of his tea and made for the door, “see you in an hour or so?”

“See ya then,” Joe waved him off, still fighting the drowsiness. 

\-------------------

The game would be starting soon and Lucy, Rami, and Joe were all seated towards the front. Lucy, being the cutesy festive type, brought face paint in the team colors so they could all sport the blue and white stripes across their cheeks. If this game wasn’t a big deal, he didn’t know what was. It seemed like the whole campus had turned up, the stadium more packed than Joe had ever seen it. The marching band was playing, and even the cheerleaders did a routine. Rami and Lucy were holding hands while Joe sat up and waved when he noticed Ben smiling at him from the field. 

The ref’s whistle echoed over the speaker system and it started with the kick-off. This was gonna be a close one. From the start, both teams were playing offensively. Players were slide tackling and engaging every legal maneuver in the book. When one team would take the lead, the other would tie it up. And it continued this way until halftime. The intermission had just started, and the three friends were chatting when suddenly the referee’s voice came over the loudspeaker. 

“Will a Mr. Joseph Mazzello please come down to the field. Joseph Mazzello.”

Joe felt frozen in time. He looked at his friends, eyes wide, looking for an answer.  _ Do they have something to do with this?  _

“Go, Joe! Hurry,” they both encouraged, pushing him along.

Joe felt his knees shaking as he descended the stairs to the main field entrance, his name still being called over the sound system. He got to the turf, and the ref beckoned him out to center field. His stomach was in knots.  _ What’s going on?  _ Suddenly, he noticed Ben jogging towards him, holding something behind his back. Rami and Lucy were sitting at the edge of their seats, looking at each other in disbelief. The rest of the crowd also looking on, equally confused. When Ben finally reached Joe, he fell before him on one knee, and Joe’s lips parted in surprise. 

“I’m done being a coward,” Ben said as he produced his varsity jacket from behind his back, and held it up to Joe from his kneeling position. He stared directly into Joe’s hazel eyes, “please, say you’ll be my boyfriend.” 

Joe just stood there in shock. The rest of the audience, unable to hear their conversation, was waiting in anticipation for the next move. A minute felt like an agonizing eternity for Joe as he tried to collect himself. Finally, he reached out and took the Letterman jacket, and Ben stood up to face him. The crowd was still silent and confused. “Yes,” he nodded his head vigorously, “yes, Ben.”

And upon hearing those words, Ben grabbed Joe by the shoulders and kissed him. Kissed him in front of his team, in front of his coach, in front of his friends, in front of the whole goddamn school. And it felt so right. Rami and Lucy stood up and started cheering and clapping, and slowly the whole stadium got on their feet and cheered and clapped and whistled for these two boys kissing each other in the middle of a soccer field. The roar of the crowd washing over them sent goosebumps over Joe’s body and he felt euphoric. They stepped apart and Joe put on the jacket, smiling, and jogged back off to sit with his friends. He was embarrassed as hell, and happy was an understatement. 

“What just happened,” he said, sounding dazed and out of breath when he got back to his seat.

The couple just laughed at him.

“That was so beautiful,” Lucy commented.

The game was back on, and Joe was relieved to see that the players were interacting normally with Ben, like nothing had even happened. 

This was it, 5 minutes left on the clock and the score was tied up 3 - 3. It was apparent that the forwards had been worked to exhaustion by the aggressive opposing team.  _ Come on, Ben. You can snag this like last time.  _ At the kick off, the ball was passed back to Ben, but he didn’t send it. Joe knew he was gonna go for it. After all, now he just had that much more to prove. The blonde skillfully dribbled it up into forward territory and passed it off to his left, lining himself up for an open pass back. His teammate passed to the mid-forward, who waited for an opening to cross the ball over towards Ben, who was in the right place at the right time, and volleyed it straight into the net. 

The crowd went wild, and his team mobbed him, lifting him up off the ground in celebration. Ben couldn’t tell which way was up and which way was down. But they won the game, and he won Joe, and as far as he was concerned, that meant that everything was right in the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH. It's the end, I'm sorry. But I'm open to a part 2 if you guys want it.
> 
> Thank you all for so much love and support. I hope you liked my cheesy ending. 
> 
> Fun fact - Originally, I was a Rami/Joe shipper since I loved their bromance in The Pacific. And I only watched BoRhap because it was those two in the same movie together. But then I saw Ben Hardy, and I was like, "who is that beautiful bitch playing the drums". And then I saw all the gay instagram chronicles and the rest is history.


End file.
